Suicide bombers attack Damascus police center: Syrian state media

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Three men blew themselves up near the police headquarters in central Damascus on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring six others, state media said, citing the interior ministry.

A damaged site is seen in front of police headquarters in central Damascus, Syria October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the second this month.

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Police forces then chased down the third attacker, who blew himself up nearby at the entrance to a clothes market.

“Our investigations are ongoing to find out where they came from and how,” police chief Mohammad Kheir Ismail told state TV from outside the headquarters. “The issue has been controlled.”

An Islamic State statement said three suicide bombers had attacked the police center with machine guns and explosive belts.

A damaged site is seen in front of police headquarters in central Damascus, Syria October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Islamic State also claimed responsibility earlier this month for a similar suicide bomb attack on a police station in another part of Damascus, in which 17 people were reported dead.

Damascus has enjoyed relative security as Syria’s six-year civil war has raged on nearby and across the country. But several such attacks have hit the capital in recent years, including a car bomb that killed 20 people in July.

Syrian Army soldiers inspect the damaged site at the police headquarters in central Damascus, Syria October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Islamic State and Tahrir al-Sham - led by militants formerly linked to al Qaeda - have each claimed separate suicide blasts that killed scores of people in Damascus previously.

“The desperate suicide attempts come as a response to the victories of the Syrian Arab Army, and the Interior Ministry is fully ready to thwart any terrorist act,” state television quoted Interior Minister Mohammad al-Shaar as saying.

With the help of Russian jets and Iran-backed militias, the Damascus government has pushed back rebels in western Syria, shoring up its rule over the main urban centers. In recent months, it has also marched eastwards against Islamic State.

Syrian troops and allied forces have recaptured several suburbs of Damascus from rebel factions over the past year. The army and its allies have been fighting insurgents in the Jobar and Ain Tarma districts on the capital’s eastern outskirts.